Will the Bashakill and other Mamakating wetlands be affected by changes to rules that control such terrain in New York? And if so, how? Those questions were suggested by county officials at the town’s September 10 Planning Board meeting – though they were not explicitly posed, and they did not get answered.

Sullivan County’s Division of Planning, Community Development, and Environmental Management Office sent Heather Jacksy, the division’s director of planning, and Shoshana Mitchell-Brief, an environmental specialist and junior planner, to address the Planning Board about issues including changes to state wetland regulations. The changes are currently being proposed by New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). They will be finalized in January 2025.

The changes include remapping the wetlands of New York State, to make maps drawn decades ago more accurate. The old maps left out land that should be included, according to the DEC. The new regulations would also expand boundaries around protected land to 800 feet – something that planning boards need to take into account when approached by people who want to build near wetlands. In addition, the DEC has created a list of many animal species that live in New York State wetlands and whose presence on wetlands requires protection. A particular subset are amphibians, who live and reproduce by laying clumps of eggs in wetland waters. These sites are called vernal pools. They also are protected.

The presenters noted that public comment sessions about the proposed regulations have taken place virtually over the past several weeks. One such meeting was happening at the same time that the Mamakating Planning Board was meeting. The final DEC public meeting is in person and scheduled for Sept. 12, at 1 p.m. at the DEC office at 625 Broadway, Albany.

The DEC also has an hour-long webinar about the proposed changes at this site: www.dec.ny.gov/get-involved/events/2024/8/proposed-changes-to-nys-freshwater-wetlands-regulations. And until September 19, comments can be emailed to WetlandRegulatoryComments@dec.ny.gov, with the subject “Wetlands Part 664 Comments.”

Subdivision and Solar Array Considered

In other business, the Planning Board heard more about a proposed 29-acre subdivision into twelve residential lots, on Nashopa Road, in the Burlingham Residential Zone. The property is owned by Na-Sho-Pa Villas LLC. The developer is proposing to build a pond, whose details still need to be formulated and approved. The Planning Board voted its agreement to be the lead agency for the development.

In addition, a small farmer, Robert Sanders, came before the board to request approval to install a solar array project on his property on 34 Pickles Road, in the Burlington Residential Zone. A possible complication was the fact that the array would be visible from the public access road. But the energy generated by the array is only for the farm’s use, not for sale or distribution to the public. The board agreed that no public hearing is needed, and a vote was taken. Sanders’s solar array was approved.